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Mandatory term for guns unconstitutional: Surrey judge

Minimum sentencing provisions of Canada's gun laws are under fire for a third time in B.C., with a Surrey provincial court judge ruling the three year sentence for possession is unconstitutional.

Judge James Bahen says the mandatory 36 month term for possession of a loaded, restricted weapon violates Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

He made the ruling yesterday and wants the Crown to make submissions on the matter before he sentences Glenn Sheck -- who was charged in 2010 after being arrested with a loaded Glock 9-millimetre semi-automatic handgun.

A spokesman for the Criminal Justice Branch says there have been two similar challenges of minimum sentencing provisions -- one in Nanaimo, the other in Surrey -- but in both cases, no violations of either sections 7 or 12 of the Charter were upheld.